Meet our buyers! {Necropost}
15Looks like y’all liked meeting our staff member Michael last week! So, we wanted to do some more interviews to introduce our mediocre staff. Hypothetically, if I were to interview one of our buyers at Mediocre, what would you wanna ask them? Leave your questions here and I will be happy to ask them. However, don’t cry if your questions don’t get picked for our video. You can still make some good GIFs out of them, right @medz? 
- 55 comments, 44 replies
- Comment
How do you go about finding a product you think might be a good fit for meh, and what's the process for approving or rejecting a specific product you think might be good?
Follow up question: Who is the best at trashcan basketball?
1) When you came to work at Meh, did you already have your own sources for product or were you provided those by Meh?
2) What was the first product (Assuming there's been one) that you were super stoked when you found and were able to secure a deal for?
3) What purchase of yours surprised you the most when it sold?
4) What purchase of yours crushed your soul when it didn't move well?
5) What's the biggest PO you've cut?
I'm really interested in this. I've been a buyer most of my life and really came close to pulling the trigger and applying for a buyer position at Woot way back when and then again at Mediocre back before the kickstarter. If I lived anywhere near Texas I absolutely would have.
Why can't you get better shit?
How fun are trade shows? Do you get to go often?
I think there's already a thread for product suggestions from mehmbers (mehitzens?). Do you ever lurk there for ideas? Is there any other way to help initiate product research?
Have you ever met Irk in person?
Luser q's:
Can we get more black-on-black AA t-shirts? Soon? Often? Cheapo?
Can we get something really special once in a while - not a hobbyist thing lije quadcopters, but, say, a product launch or beta, or something way outside expectations but still theoretically affordable, that kinda blows all our wee minds?
When will you bring back speaker docks?
Would you like to buy some speaker docks?
What's your personal favorite buy? And when are you getting more decent headphones?
I'm really hoping you can get some speaker docks... Please... We love speaker docks... Look at all the fun things we do with them! :)
@sohmageek
@buyers
Just gather up all your leftover speakerdocks and send them to @sohmageek so he'll STFU, as long as he promises pix and videos of filmed-live usage.
@f00l
my most favorite of the docks. And it's one of the white ones to match the phones.
@sohmageek Surprised you asked...!
@galmaegi It's hard to tell when it's sarcasm over the internet... :P But check out the Meh speakerdock above... I badged it myself!
Has any company rejected a purchase offer, only to come back later to ask (beg) 'are you interested in buying this shit now?'
Do you have to turn in ALL trade show swag to @shawn or @snapster etc., or do you get to keep your battle trophies?
What skills make a buyer successful?
What's the story behind the speaker docks?
@Kevin I love them! :)
@sohmageek especially the JBL Mini.
Are there separate buyers for Meh and Mediocre's other ventures ?
a) If no, how do you decide what is for where ?
b) Or does Meh just get what no other division wants or is leftover ?
Do you ever feel bad about buying mediocre items ?
a)Do buyers for other companies that purchase nicer
items make fun of you ?
b)Does this affect your self esteem ?
b1) If yes, how do you cope ?
How many great meals does Meh buy for you?. And how can customers get invited to some of those company-purchased meals?
Whaddaya buyin'?
Is there anything you've come across where you've had to say, "That is WAY too crappy, even for us."? If so, what was it?
@SpenceMan01 To add to this, can it be answered in a video like this one from 5-1/2 years ago (that @matthew probably put together)?
So who among you is the top deal hound? You know, that person that always can find that great deal, the awesome price etc
I miss food. aka Wine.woot not the wine the other stuff. it was mostly not end runs but ways to introduce people to products, some i still buy to this day.
Can we get some Fountain Pen/ink/ some really obscure items to see if they will sell out or Flop? Maybe you can get an agreement with some manufacturer to ship directly from factory as they make them. That'd be cool...
Also maybe another project like the Neoprene. I have kicked myself many times for not maxing out on that purchase. I would love to get tons of mostly useless shit cheaply that I can flip for a slight profit (you wouldn't believe how quickly they went at 2 for $1...
Have you ever offered or been offered sexual favors in order to strike a deal?
@medz
@medz I really hope your follow up question isn't "how much do we have to offer then?" or "do you want to be offered sexual favors in order to strike a deal?"
@sohmageek "See anything you like?" (bow chicka bow wow)
Are you very picky about buying stuff in your personal life and how does your significant other (if applicable) feel about that?
What's the largest wild animal you think you could successfully strangle? (if you had to in order to survive)
@medz And how would you cook it?
@medz
Remember how to kill the wild creature in Colossal Cave? I guess they would do it like that.
Do you get free or discounted product from meh.com or do you have to pay full price when you want an item that is being sold?
Does being a buyer affect your buying habits in your personal life?
How much shit do you buy just because you want to be able to buy it for yourself later?
What is your favorite type of underwear?
@joe43wv You know I'm the one who should ask this question.
Do you get a commission when things sell well? How does item price factor into that commission?
And how many speaker docks do you now have at home that you purchased to push sales so you'd earn a larger commission?
Do buyers have a friendly competition based on the sales of their buys? If so - who's winning? Was there any item that sealed the deal of your buying dominance? And finally, bacon.
What item are you hoping to get a deal on soon
Why did you stop buying speaker docks? Cuz people want to buy speaker docks.
@luvche21 yes, yes we do!
I have no questions but do want to say I love y'all. My nights always end laughing!
Why do you not buy more meh branded items? I mean if you are going to sell crap then you might as well slap the meh label on it since some of us are dumb enough to buy it for the label. And I can now tell you that it is a PITA meh branding things (eg the ping pong balls) with a sharpie myself. Took way longer than I thought it would. Selling more meh branded items would be a convenience factor some of us would pay for.
A while back - a few months - there was a longish thread indicating keen interest among the community in purchasing meh-branded dog poop. How's the sourcing going on that?
Woot!, before it was corrupted, had new releases, has this idea been floated at Meh?
How much autonomy do you have? Do you have to confirm with a manager before you actually buy anything, or can you make the call yourself? Who has the last word?
Has anyone ever gotten really hosed on a deal? The kind of thing where everyone talks about "that time Bob thought he had a great line on a bunch of DVD players but it turned out he bought an entire container load of Halo2 Video players?"
Did @galmaegi ask any of you if you wanted to do this, or did she just spring it on you?
@thismyusername Just sprang it on us. I was an employee of Synapse in 2001 which ultimately became woot in 2004, weathered the Amazon buy-out in 2010, was summarily (& thankfully) discharged of my duties in 2012. Jumped back in (again thankfully) w/ Matt & Co. in 2014, & jumped back on the buying side (can I say thankfully thrice in the same paragraph?) in May 2015. Great ride before, even better now! So I'm looking forward to "hypothetically" answering some of the questions above with the some of the team.
@Jdub
:O I was looking for you. Well, not you per se, but I knew I saw a Meh employee who's name started with a J who wasn't on my list.
@Jdub did you like speaker docks back then, or at any point in your buying?
@sohmageek still trying to figure out who to bribe for more docks aren't ya
@sohmageek I like everything that is a deal. Especially if thousands of you actually want/need it! Regarding speaker docks, I was talking with a large manufacturer years ago, and asked about the pending Apple switch away from the 30-pin connector. He claimed that would never happen. He's still trying to get rid of his 30-pin stuff... and still wants more $ than lightning/BT docks because "if you need one, you'll pay". True, but the same can be said for a 56K USRobotics Courier modem, or a 5.25" DSDD floppy drive hahahaha!
@Jdub
So we can expect to see Meh sell 5.25" DSDD floppy drives?
@FroodyFrog I can only say this -- they make good paperweights!
@Jdub That would be terrifying... Thousands of Speaker docks... all at once... I wouldn't know where to put them... But it'd be exciting also...
@sohmageek @jdub @froodyfrog How about speakerdocks that only play music off of 5.25 floppy disks?
@DaveInSoCal I'd rather punch cards....
@sohmageek You'll find a way to store them.
@DaveInSoCal A 128k mp3 is roughly a meg a minute, so a 360k floppy ... 20 seconds per diskette.
@narfcake @DaveInSoCal @sohmageek @Jdub
20 seconds a cassette? That's 14 seconds more than I would want from Meh.
@FroodyFrog No, per disk. Cassette, you'd stay analog and would be listening on a Walkman (or equivalent) for 45 minutes per side (with a common C-90 tape).
@narfcake
That's better.
@narfcake Remember the Datassette machines back in the Commodore days (and beyond, but that's my reference)? Think that was about 150KB per 45 minute side, or just shy of ten seconds worth of 128 kbps MP3.
Do you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain?
What was your worst purchase and do you honestly believe we were wrong to not want the product?
Who bought these?
@RedOak In a way I wish I did... oh you mean buyers for meh for us suckers to buy... The fridges looked awesome, but I usually don't have a whole lot of disposable income for meh these days... or when that came out.
@sohmageek Didn’t they come beat to hell? Maybe it’s good you passed on them.
So, how long have you had this headphone and speaker fetish?
Do you handle the selling price/logistics as well, or just the buying?
Is the price you (MEH) pays based on the anticipated selling price or is that determined after the stuff is fished out of the dumpster?
how do you consistently find such weird shit
What would be the best way to contact and convince you to acquire a particular product?
@DrunkCat You could try something like this thread:
https://meh.com/forum/topics/i-want-to-make-a-mediocre-attempt-to-get-the-attention-of-your-buyers
@Bingo
@galmaegi
/giphy all that and a bag of chips
@galmaegi
Does snapster ever have ideas for stuff to buy that are really dumb or impractical?
“Hey, buyers. I read this cool article about bobcat saddles. You should find some of those to buy!”
@medz
Who else besides me wants to ride a bobcat now?
Hey buyers. How about getting something cool like Amazon echo or older Apple TV/chromecast? Current generation would be awesome but probably not likely.
@sohmageek
I’d possibly buy a Chromecast if the price was good, even though I don’t have a need for it yet.
/giphy waiting
@Bingo
@galmaegi lol I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be a gif saying I’m stirring the pot or if that’s supposed to be a gif saying ‘We’re cooking something up’.
I’m gif-fused!
@Bingo Probably the latter one. I didn’t want to be too obvious. heh
Is that grabber thingy in the video for sale?
@chacham I wish. I need to clean the garage out and I could use it to flip crap over to check for spider. Friggin’ spiders…
Perhaps you should look for something like these mediocre door mats:
/woot mediocre
THIS IS A MEDIOCRE DOORMAT for $16.99
http://tools.woot.com/offers/this-is-a-mediocre-doormat-1
THIS IS A MEDIOCRE HOUSEHOLD for $16.99
http://tools.woot.com/offers/this-is-a-mediocre-household-1
I been emailing meh few times to sell on their site! cant get any buyer info/ someone help!
@hkredi As I understand it, you don’t “sell on their site”. If they want to sell what you can provide to them, they will buy a specified lot size and then sell it on one of their sites. I have no buyer contacts to provide, as I’m just a customer.
@hkredi not sure if this email is still active. If you have the quantity of a product you think Meh would like, then you can try it and see if it’s still active.
EDIT: email link removed in case it’s no longer active, an auto email should’ve already been sent to the OP with the info.